List of the top 20 Greatest Hits collections of all time might shock you

Like many music fans, I am fascinated by lists of albums. Whether it’s a particular artist's albums being rated or maybe a list of the top live albums, it’s always a good read. There are so many variations and an amazing range of views and opinions. 

Seeing other listeners' favorite albums listed and ranked is always interesting too. It’s a great way of reminding you of songs and artists you haven't heard for a while and then playing them again. Often it’s a way of finding new music you haven't heard or paid much attention to. That can send you off on a journey of exploration as you search out more of that artist’s work. 

One of the great ways to tap into an artist’s back catalog is to look out for the greatest hits or a best-of collection. That does miss out on the way a particular album is put together or other great songs that were album tracks rather than singles. But it does collect many brilliant tracks together to check out. And you can still go to specific studio albums or live collections as a follow-up. 

The best Greatest Hits collections of all time might surprise you

Those hits collections aren't always the best sellers for an artist although there are a few where that is the case. Many listeners will already have the songs on other albums and don't want to repeat them. But they can still sell in big numbers. This prompted me to look at the best-selling greatest hits collections of all time and how many copies they sold.

I’ve ranked here the top 20 greatest hits or best of collections ever. It’s based on their published totals of worldwide sales as reported by bestsellingalbums.org. The list has plenty you’d expect to see and several shocking omissions and entries too. Also surprising is that some artists appear more than once. That's a neat trick for extra sales if you can pull it off. Let’s have a look at the list and see who gets a mention. 

20 - James Taylor - James Taylor's Greatest Hits - Sales 12.6 million 

This was the first of the surprises. I knew James Taylor was a big star but hadn’t realized just how popular this 1976 album was. It is his highest-selling album overall. The album marked probably his most successful period overall, though he went on to deliver more great albums and hit songs long afterward.

19  - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits - 12.9 m

At first, this was another unexpected entry in this top 20. They are a great musician and band, but ranking very high in sales. The album did, though, take a jump in sales after Tom Petty’s untimely death in 2017 and is now his best-selling album. It covered his best songs and included a couple of new ones when first released in 1993. It’s a pretty good retrospective of his music. 

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